Reduced-fat Chia Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups brownulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2  teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

5 1/2 cups of rolled oats

6 Tablespoons of chia seeds

2 cups of golden raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl,  mix sugars and applesauce, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together.  Then add 4 eggs and mix well.  Stir in rolled oats, chia seeds, and golden raisins.  Combine thoroughly.

Spoon mixture into clumps on a baking sheet pan with parchment on it, or use a non-stick spray on the sheetpan.  

Bake about 10 minutes and remove from oven.  Allow to cool at Room temp or eat them warm.  They are delicious and moist!  The applesauce locks in moisture.

Yogurt: Make Your Own At Home and Save

Its easy to make large batches of yogurt at home by using simple starter cultures from your favorite yogurts purchased at your local grocery store. You can even find specific yogurt and kefir starter cultures online by doing a google search.
I prefer to use organic milk and look on the back of your yogurts for the best variety of bacteria species.  I like using a combination of Fage Greek plain yogurt and Stoneyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt. Make sure you get yogurt without sugar and/or flavorings.  You can add those once the yogurt has cultured. Once you make your own yogurt you'll have the starter for the next batch!

This is a great learning project to tackle with kids too.  If you've recently had an infection and taken antibiotics this is a great way to restore healthy probiotics (bacteria) to your digestive tract.  Here's the recipe.  Enjoy!

1 Quart Milk (organic if you can get it)
1 Tablespoon yogurt from your favorite yogurt brand(s)
1 cup of Instant Milk powder (this is optional, but necessary if you like thick yogurt)

In a large saucepot, bring the milk (and milk powder, if used) to a boil.  Keep your eye on the milk because you don't want the milk to boil over and make a mess.  Once the milk starts to foam at the top, remove the milk from the stove.
Allow the milk to sit and cool to between 105 and 110 degrees.  A candy thermometer is helpful here.
Once the milk has cooled, take a half cup of warmed milk and add your 1 Tablespoon of Yogurt to this and mix thoroughly with a fork.  It is best to make your yogurt on a sunny day, so that it will be nice and thick.  If you make it on a cold or rainy day, you may need to add an extra Tablespoon of yogurt or you may not get the results you want-the yogurt may come out runny.  You now have all those healthy probiotics ready to reproduce and make yogurt.
Add the 1/2 cup of milk and yogurt to the rest of the heated milk and give it a good stir.
Next transfer the milk and yogurt mixture to a glass, stainless steel, or any container with a good fitting lid.  Cover the mixture and place it in a warm spot in your kitchen where it will be allowed to set undisturbed for about 12 hours.  You can place it in an off over or place a kitchen towel around it to keep the temperature constant.
Once you have allowed the yogurt to set, you may see a yellowish liquid on the top of the yogurt.  That is the whey.  Its very good for your immune system and is very nourishing.  You can stir that into your yogurt or drain it off and drink it.
Let me know how your yogurt turns out!!  And don't forget that you can increase this recipe as you need.
Refrigerate the yogurt once it is set and dig in!
Now is the time to add any fruit or jams to the yogurt, but be sure to preserve a 1/2 cup of the plain mixture for the next batch you make.

I got this recipe from Flavors of India: Recipes from the Vegetarian Hindu Cuisine by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff 1972.

Do Newly Discovered Itch Cells Explain Acupuncture's Effectiveness?

I've always heard that itching during or after needling was a good sign, as was itching of the nose during treatment. It was never explained how or why other than the arrival of qi.   But I like science because it feels more tangible, more 'sellable' to the public than good intentions and abstract concepts alone.

Now new research published in Nature Neuroscience  http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.3289.html
suggests certain nerve cells that innervate the peripheral nervous system respond only to itchiness and not to pain.  These newly discovered 'itch cells' are found in the skin and presumably respond only to pruritic or itch-inducing agents.  These cells are connected to the dorsal root ganglion emerging from the spine.

So my conclusion is that an itching sensation during or after acupuncture is a sign of successful treatment in that what may appear to be a localized reaction at the point of needle insertion actually has deeper systemic connections not only to the meridians treated, but to the Du Mai, Bladder, Back Shu, Huatuo Jia Ji points and also deeper to the spinal column and central nervous system.

According to the University of Maryland, "The effects of acupuncture are complex. How it works is not entirely clear. Research suggests that the needling process, and other techniques used in acupuncture, may produce a variety of effects in the body and the brain. One theory is that stimulated nerve fibers transmit signals to the spinal cord and brain, activating the body' s central nervous system. The spinal cord and brain then release hormones responsible for making us feel less pain while improving overall health. In fact, a study using images of the brain confirmed that acupuncture increases our pain threshold, which may explain why it produces long-term pain relief. Acupuncture may also increase blood circulation and body temperature, affect white blood cell activity (responsible for our immune function), reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and regulate blood sugar levels."

Source: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/acupuncture-000345.htm#ixzz2GS5phNYb 
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